Recording with External MIDI Sync On

[freehand]

I am using Reason 10 with an Akai MPC2000XL.

Reason is set to receive MIDI Clock from the MPC, so I use the transport
controls on the MPC to control the Reason sequencer.

This all works, except for Recording in Reason - When I hit record on the
MPC, it records on the MPC, but does not enable record in Reason.

If I hit record in Reason, it of course says it is externally synced, so I need to
use the controls on the device its synced to (ie the MPC). This is the same thing
it says if I try to hit Play within Reason.

Is there some way around this? Is there no way I can record in Reason, if I am
synced to an external device?

[PhillipOrdonez]

I am using Reason 10 with an Akai MPC2000XL.

Reason is set to receive MIDI Clock from the MPC, so I use the transport
controls on the MPC to control the Reason sequencer.

This all works, except for Recording in Reason - When I hit record on the
MPC, it records on the MPC, but does not enable record in Reason.

If I hit record in Reason, it of course says it is externally synced, so I need to
use the controls on the device its synced to (ie the MPC). This is the same thing
it says if I try to hit Play within Reason.

Is there some way around this? Is there no way I can record in Reason, if I am
synced to an external device?

I'm interested in this as well. I normally record hardware with Reason as the master, never the slave.

[enossified]

MIDI doesn't have a message for Record the way it does for sequencer Stop, Start and Continue.

But MIDI Machine Control (MMC) does. You need a controller that can send MMC messages.

You have to enable MMC in your MPC. I don't know about the 2000, but the 2500, 1000 and 500 all have this.

[DJMaytag]

The delay you have from pressing start on your MPC to when Reason detects the start and can start recording audio is enough that you might chop off a few milliseconds of audio at the start. This is one reason why it's a good idea to set Reason as the master, and external sequencers as slaves. The caveat is having a good sync/clock signal, so a device like an Expert Sleepers USAMO or something similar (ES-3 & expanders) is the best way to get a sample accurate MIDI clock out to your hardware.

[freehand]

Thanks everyone - all helpful info.

For anyone interested, I just realized that I can simply hit Record in Reason WHILE
it is playing (as MIDI sync slave) and it will record the new sequences the MPC is
tossing at it. (A bit of a "well duh.." moment - it turns out that to record you just.. err..
hit record..)

This is a great, flexible workflow for me. If I start a project from scratch making all
sequences on MPC (or my keyboard which goes through it) then it's no problem -
although I'm trapped in the 90s. Or if I do it all in Reason it's no problem - I'm just
getting mouse click and eye fatigue. But it's super nice to be able to open an existing
Reason project, then jump in and jam with the MPC when the track is asking for it.

Also a bit relieved that not a single person said "why the hell are you using an archaic
sampler when you have a computer with a gajillion times the power?" I love my
nineties dream studio, and I'm glad Reason likes to play with it.

[freehand]

The delay you have from pressing start on your MPC to when Reason detects the start and can start recording audio is enough that you might chop off a few milliseconds of audio at the start.

Yeah and this actually results in a super trippy artifact - when Reason notices the lag and suddenly corrects it, there are all kinds of pitch wobbles in my instruments for the first bar or two. It's almost desirable. *almost*..

[demt]

mpc im still getting the hang of. I bet tis a lot better once the small screen the vst plug in (witch works unlike the screen,help)so far isnt very impressive but as a sound card mpc touch is cool for me .im also pleased to find a lot of mpc users into reason im allso 90s inspired. an akai users thread?

[bik44]

I use Bome Midi Translator Pro in this scenario. You can program it to automatically hit Record key when MMC start detected (it can “press” any shortcut key according to any midi message etc.). Very useful tool for Reason btw.

[DJMaytag]

Also a bit relieved that not a single person said "why the hell are you using an archaic
sampler when you have a computer with a gajillion times the power?" I love my
nineties dream studio, and I'm glad Reason likes to play with it.

5-10 years ago, I’m sure that would have been said. The tide it turning, where people are getting a bit sick of being “in the box.” I know I am, and have relegated Reason to mainly being a MIDI sequencer + Alesis ADAT combo. My reliance on VSTi’s is going down significantly as I get more of my hardware working properly & connected to a massive Expert Sleepers system to sync/clock stuff and run a bunch of CV/gate outputs to the real world (Pulsar LFO outputs to modulate my Korg MS-20M filters in sync to MIDI FTW!).